Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.
TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
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TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal case analysis of Melbourne's transition to improved stormwater quality treatment is presented, which reveals the importance of a small group of loosely connected frontrunners from across government, private, community and scientific sectors who, through a mix of creating and disrupting institutional strategies, managed to facilitate a growing actor-network that steered this transition over decades.
Abstract: The role of agency in overcoming path dependence and enabling sustainability transitions is receiving increasing attention. Currently lacking are more empirically derived explanations of the co-evolutionary dynamics between actors and institutional change that could potentially provide guidance on facilitating such transitions into the future. This paper investigates these dynamics through a longitudinal case analysis of Melbourne's transition to improved stormwater quality treatment. The complex data collection, analysis and validation approach, which included oral histories, semi-structured interviews, industry workshops and documentary analysis, examined the nuances of the actor-related strategies and institutional enabling processes throughout the different phases of the transition over the last fifty years. The results revealed the importance of a small group of loosely connected frontrunners from across government, private, community and scientific sectors who, through a mix of creating and disrupting institutional strategies, managed to facilitate a growing and diverse actor-network that steered this transition over decades. The establishment of networked bridging organisations was also instrumental because they formed different types of networks and alliances over time for protecting and deepening the reach of the transition dynamics across the city. The findings suggest there is no single cause–effect relationship nor one dominant intervention or action that shifted the urban stormwater management regime. Rather, it showed that the co-evolutionary processes between the broader transitional dynamics were played into by frontrunners and their actor-networks in such a way that emerging new narratives diffused, giving meaning to the evolving scientific agendas and on-the-ground experiments, which led to new institutional structures and enabling administrative tools. It seems as though each one of these dimensions is as crucial as the other in explaining the outcomes of this successful sustainability transition.
228 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a theoretical framework to explain the emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality of deep transition in socio-technical systems, which does so through the synthesis of three strands of literature: individual socio-technologies, interconnected systems and industrialization-related macro-trends.
Abstract: The unfolding of industrial modernity has led to high levels of wealth and welfare in the Western world but also to increasing global ecological degradation and social inequality. The routine mode of operation of a wide range of socio-technical systems, forming the material backbone of contemporary societies, has substantially contributed to these outcomes. This paper proposes that all these systems can be seen as a surface expression of fundamental meta-rules that for the past 250 years have driven the evolution of these systems and system innovation towards particular directions, thereby constituting the First Deep Transition. To meet the accumulated social and ecological challenges would therefore require a radical change not only in socio-technical systems but also in meta-rules underlying their functioning – the Second Deep Transition. This paper develops a new theoretical framework aiming to explain the emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality of Deep Transitions. It does so through the synthesis of three strands of literature: individual socio-technical systems, interconnected systems and industrialization-related macro-trends.
227 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...However, sociological thinking also includes the notion of resources and the idea that structures are seen as combinations of rules and resources (Giddens, 1984: 377)....
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...In line with sociological thinking (Giddens, 1984; Sewell, 1992), rules are also seen as setting constraints on certain actions while making other actions possible (e.g. the standardization of communication protocols enabling the widespread use of the Internet)....
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...In line with sociological thinking (Giddens, 1984; Sewell, 1992), rules are also seen as setting constraints on certain actions while making other actions possible (e....
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TL;DR: The authors explored how corporations project their corporate philosophy through ''mission statements'' drawn from a large corpus of mission statements and found that mission statements can be used as a vehicle for communicating corporate philosophy.
Abstract: This article explores how corporations project their corporate philosophy through `Mission Statements'. Linguistic and textual analysis of such statements drawn from a sizeable corpus allows us to ...
227 citations
16 Dec 2003
TL;DR: Hart and Prakash as mentioned in this paper discuss the concept and politics of globalization and governance, and propose a relation contracting approach to the Governance of Global Markets and Global Governance.
Abstract: Introduction. The Concept and Politics of Globalization and Governance Global Governance: A Relation Contracting Approach David A Lake Rent-Seeking, Redistribution and Reform in the Governance of Global Markets Michael D McGinnis Globalization and the Evolution of Rules Wayne Sandhlotz Social Constructivism and the Evolution of Multilateral Environmental Governance Peter M Haas Globalization as Governance: Toward an Archeology of Contemporary Political Reason Ian R Douglas Impact of Globalization on the Westphalian State Back to the Future: Neomedievalism and the Post Modern World Economy Stephen J Kobrin Globalization, Goverance and Complexity Phillip G Cerny Market Glkobalization and the Future Policies of the Industrial States Robert T Kudrle New Institutions and New Policies Globalization, Governance and Strategic Trade and Investment Policies Jeffrey A Hart and Aseem Prakash Administrative Law for a New Century Alfred C Aman Jr Governance of the EU in the 21st Century Michele Fratianni Conclusions Jeffrey A Hart and Aseem Prakash.
227 citations
01 Jun 2003
TL;DR: The authors argue that analysis of political contention dynamics can benefit from attention to the spatial constitution and context of social, political, and economic processes, and the ways in which these processes are spatially experienced and contested.
Abstract: Drawing upon the work of McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly, Lefebvre, and others, we argue that analysis of political contention dynamics can benefit from attention to the spatial constitution and context of social, political, and economic processes, and the ways in which these processes are spatially experienced and contested. We contend that spatial processes are inseparable from, and constitutive of, social processes. Starting from the central geographic concepts of space, place, and scale, we discuss how a spatial perspective can produce more illuminating understandings of how people perceive, shape, and act upon grievances and opportunities. We demonstrate the utility of a spatial perspective through an examination of ways in which space is implicated in the operation of several mechanisms identified by McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly. Finally, we introduce the papers included in this special issue on space and contentious politics, discussing the ways each author finds place, space, and scale to be bound up in th...
227 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...One way to think about space is to compare it to what is often posed as its counterpart, time (Kern 1983; Giddens 1984; Harvey 1989a, 1996; May and Thrift 2001)....
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...Certainly, scholars across the social sciences and humanities have grappled with the role and meaning of space and spatial processes for human action (Lefebvre 1991 [1974]; Harvey 1982, 1989a, 1989b, 1996; Giddens 1984; Foucault 1986; Soja 1989, 1996)....
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